Article: BREAKING: Rafael Devers Traded To San Francisco Giants

[Hugh2]

Maybe I've missed something that was said, but unlike other recent guys who were traded away, there isn't any blowback from Devers team mates. 

That should be VERY telling. 

[cp176]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I feel much the same, but I'd also like to see him in the lineup as DH soon, possibly in a platoon with Refsnyder and/or Gonzalez. 

I don’t care if Yoshida ever throws another baseball or even wanders onto the outfield grass but until they dream up a better situation, I would like to see him in the lineup yesterday.  The guy can hit.  No one is likely to produce What Devers gave and was giving anytime soon but we need a player who can actually make solid contact some of the time.  I’m already over the Devers loss.  I was a fan just not a great fan.  Of course the management could have done a better job with him but I feel no need to know anything more about him than I saw on the field.  Upward and onward…

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, cp176 said:

I don’t care if Yoshida ever throws another baseball or even wanders onto the outfield grass but until they dream up a better situation, I would like to see him in the lineup yesterday.  The guy can hit.  No one is likely to produce What Devers gave and was giving anytime soon but we need a player who can actually make solid contact some of the time.  I’m already over the Devers loss.  I was a fan just not a great fan.  Of course the management could have done a better job with him but I feel no need to know anything more about him than I saw on the field.  Upward and onward…

Agreed, and with the DH slot wide open, now, there is zero need for Yoshida to ever have to make a single throw from the OF, at least until 2 OF'ers are traded, get hurt or retire. 

Right now, it looks like the DH slot helped clear up an already crowded OF, so why do we need Yoshida to play LF?

If the guy can hit, now, he should be rehabbing in the minors as a DH and be ready to be called up, in case of an injury or OF'er trade.

[moonslav59]

23 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Maybe I've missed something that was said, but unlike other recent guys who were traded away, there isn't any blowback from Devers team mates. 

That should be VERY telling. 

The story about Devers getting upset over KC asking to play 1B confirms how high the toxic level was rising in the clubhouse. Imagine being a rookie and thinking you are doing what is best for the team, like every SP'er did after watching Nate take the ball in relief in the '18 WS, by going to ask Cora, if they can help in the pen in the same way, and being made to feel like you offended the star of the team.

I've been a huge fan of Devers and was genuinely in the Devers forevers camp. Hell, I invented the term. He lost my respect- not as a hitter- but as a good teammate and role model. We have so many pre-arb players on this roster. They don't need that kind of grief as they struggle to make adjustments to the bigs. There are enough things on their plates, as is.

I think I'm off the fence, now. (That was quick.) As much as I hate the loss of his bat, this needed to happen. To find a  taker and only needing to take back the Hicks' slightly bad contract was the right thing to do.

There. I said it.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

And there's a pretty good chance that Raffy would just hear this as GM-speak for "We're looking to replace you at third."

It's better than not communicating at all! 

[mvp 78]

53 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Maybe I've missed something that was said, but unlike other recent guys who were traded away, there isn't any blowback from Devers team mates. 

That should be VERY telling. 

Some people believe it means something. Some people have said "well if they speak up, they'll get traded too" or whatever like we haven't had a million "unnamed source" stories in the past. 

[mvp 78]

23 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The story about Devers getting upset over KC asking to play 1B confirms how high the toxic level was rising in the clubhouse. Imagine being a rookie and thinking you are doing what is best for the team, like every SP'er did after watching Nate take the ball in relief in the '18 WS, by going to ask Cora, if they can help in the pen in the same way, and being made to feel like you offended the star of the team.

I've been a huge fan of Devers and was genuinely in the Devers forevers camp. Hell, I invented the term. He lost my respect- not as a hitter- but as a good teammate and role model. We have so many pre-arb players on this roster. They don't need that kind of grief as they struggle to make adjustments to the bigs. There are enough things on their plates, as is.

I think I'm off the fence, now. (That was quick.) As much as I hate the loss of his bat, this needed to happen. To find a  taker and only needing to take back the Hicks' slightly bad contract was the right thing to do.

There. I said it.

I also am immune to propaganda. 

[Bellhorn04]

I think Ortiz's comments are pretty telling.  He says he tried to reach out to Devers many times and Devers was just not receptive.  I see no reason why David would make something like that up.  

 

[Bellhorn04]

My blame pie is 80-85% Devers, and I don't really care who gets the rest of it.  

[Hugh2]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Some people believe it means something. Some people have said "well if they speak up, they'll get traded too" or whatever like we haven't had a million "unnamed source" stories in the past. 

Have we ever heard of players being afraid to speak up around here? I mean….maybe someone wants to get traded.

all I’m saying is, when has a move like this been made in Boston and we DIDN’T hear about it from a player or two?

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

My blame pie is 80-85% Devers, and I don't really care who gets the rest of it.  

That's been obvious for a while. 

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I think Ortiz's comments are pretty telling.  He says he tried to reach out to Devers many times and Devers was just not receptive.  I see no reason why David would make something like that up.  

 

Why does it matter that Devers didn't want to talk to Ortiz? He was doing fine without him. 

[jdc69]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The Joon Lee article had some interesting tidbits. https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/inside-the-absolute-s-show-that-led-to-the-boston-red-soxs-trade-of-rafael-devers-220018400.html

Meanwhile, Breslow has grown increasingly insulated. Multiple sources within the organization describe a front office losing cohesion. Staffers who helped build four championship teams — veterans of the Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski and Bloom regimes — now feel shut out of the operation. The collaborative spirit that once defined Red Sox baseball operations has frayed.

One of the clearest signals came during an internal team Zoom meeting earlier this season. Toward the end, Carl Moesche — the Red Sox’s scouting supervisor and a team employee since 2017 — thought the call had ended. It hadn’t. As the meeting wrapped, his voice cut through a quiet moment.

“Thanks, Bres, you f***ing stiff,” Moesche said, according to two team sources.

The words landed like a grenade, and Breslow fired Moesche.

 

The internal strain has bled into how the Red Sox handle their players, too.

The coaching staff has grown frustrated with the state of player development, specifically how much emphasis is placed on swing mechanics and hitting data, often at the expense of fundamentals. That imbalance, coaches believe, traces back to the Bloom era and has only accelerated under Breslow. One example cited is rookie Kristian Campbell, who has made a string of routine errors at second base since being called up. He’s not alone; as a team, the Red Sox lead all of baseball with 64 errors, one more than the Colorado Rockies and 17 more than the third-place Los Angeles Angels.

Another error came during Roman Anthony’s debut, when he misplayed a ball in right field. The next day, Anthony was sent out to run outfield drills in front of the media. Multiple people in the organization noted that under previous regimes, that kind of instruction would’ve taken place behind closed doors. This time, it felt like a message from the coaching staff to the front office. One team source described the message as deliberate: “This is what we still have to teach, at the big-league level.”

 

But to reduce this entire saga to Devers’ shortcomings is to miss the point. His unwillingness to move to first base wasn’t just a personal decision. It was a reaction to a team that no longer made sense around him.

Inside the clubhouse, players watched as the coaching staff publicly flagged Roman Anthony’s defensive fundamentals as a slight to the front office. They saw teammates asked to switch positions on the fly. They witnessed Cora trying to win baseball games while benching the team’s top prospects. In the front office, scouts were fired over slights, veteran leaders with deep organizational trust were iced out, and the communication from Breslow dried up. According to multiple sources, Devers was also upset when the rookie Campbell volunteered to play first base this season — interpreting it as a slight to his own stature.

In the end, though, Devers was still hitting and was ready to move past the early-season drama. Breslow saw things differently, saw the slugger as a problem that needed to be solved. For him, the trust was gone. And now, so is Devers.

Was Anthony in on doing drills in front of the media or was he made to? That sounds pretty bad if he was made to. 

[drewski6]

On 6/16/2025 at 12:51 PM, mvp 78 said:

It's the morning after. It's how we were always going to feel. We'll feel a little bit better tomorrow. 

I wasn't going to trash the back patio last night like my daughter threatened to do. 

To me, Devers received a contract of 331/11 or 30.1M/yr. It was 35m for his bat, -4.9M for his 3b defense.  He has more value as a DH than risking injury, and stinking it up at defensive 3b. His value went up when he stopped playing the field.

Now if the team wants him to play 1B, thats worth lets say .1M / yr to me. These are peanuts relative to his value (his bat).  Yes, a DH can be worth 30.1 and he was.

The fact that he wouldnt move, and sat there pouting and isolated - immature - sure. But he was still well worth his contract even as a DH(he's worth 35m as a DH, maybe 35.1 as a 1B). So no, we are not better.

Unless you are an impact player defensively, it frankly just doesnt matter.  

This was dumb on all parties. It was so minor whether Devers plays 1b or dh and it cost us our best hitter. Good luck replacing those runs created. We may, but getting the DH spot back, does not matter to me.  I dont care if Roman or Duran DHs now vs before they would have had to learn 1B. Its not like Devers is a 3 WAR better 1b than Duran or Roman would have been. Because frankly, it matters very little who is playing 1B. Call it DH2.

9 best hitters, shifting around mediocre (or worse) defensive players does not matter.  It frankly does not matter much at all if KC plays 2b, 3b, 1b, dh. Cedanne should play CF because thats why hes here.  Nav should play C because thats why hes here.  Anybody else - its inconsequential.

[drewski6]

If you are a good defensive player , it matters.  But if you are not, whether you play a lousy position x or DH.

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

Was Anthony in on doing drills in front of the media or was he made to? That sounds pretty bad if he was made to. 

Oh, is he too much of a diva to do drills? 😎

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

The fact that he wouldnt move, and sat there pouting and isolated - immature - sure. But he was still well worth his contract even as a DH(he's worth 35m as a DH, maybe 35.1 as a 1B). So no, we are not better.

Unless you are an impact player defensively, it frankly just doesnt matter.  

He pouted for a bit, but he produced from April - June in a way we had never seen. He was great on the field. That production won't be replaced. It won't.

It definitely won't be replaced by swapping in and out KC, Abreu, Duran, Hamilton, etc as you said. Yeah, you give guys a day off, but I'd rather have a guy who can legit OPS 900 at the top of the lineup for the whole year. You can't count on Romy, Toro, Refsnyder and others to do that for the next 3 months. The big three are going to need a breaking in period. They may have some great moments this summer, but the big three are not a finished product.

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He pouted for a bit, but he produced from April - June in a way we had never seen. He was great on the field. That production won't be replaced. It won't.

It definitely won't be replaced by swapping in and out KC, Abreu, Duran, Hamilton, etc as you said. Yeah, you give guys a day off, but I'd rather have a guy who can legit OPS 900 at the top of the lineup for the whole year. You can't count on Romy, Toro, Refsnyder and others to do that for the next 3 months. The big three are going to need a breaking in period. They may have some great moments this summer, but the big three are not a finished product.

Exactly. If you need to play players at a non-optimal position to make room for an elite bat, you do it.  You dont trade an elite bat for peanuts and then celebrate that you can arrange your positional players in a more ideal way.

Unless you are an elite CF, SS, C - you are in the bigs to hit. 

[drewski6]

"His defense......does not matter" - Brad Pitt

[moonslav59]

53 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I also am immune to propaganda. 

I hear you, and I have my doubts about the veracity of this claim, even with the "multiple sources" aspect.

I'm still not "happy" being critical of Devers on the way out, though.

[dgalehouse]

Devers was clearly the best hitter on the team. The leader in several offensive categories. And yet, I didn't hear even one of his teammates lamenting his departure. That is kind of strange. 

[drewski6]

Just now, dgalehouse said:

Devers was clearly the best hitter on the team. The leader in several offensive categories. And yet, I didn't hear even one of his teammates lamenting his departure. That is kind of strange. 

Yup it is- for sure. But your current Red Sox, that have spent 6 years trying to rebuild back into a good team, just fell pretty far back.

Feelings/maturity/blame-game doesnt change that.  Not to dismiss all of that, I understand that more than talent matters.  But Im personally, having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we are now worse as a team, even if the players are like good riddance about it.

[drewski6]

If WAR tells you that a DH is only worth 6 WAR capped, then something is wrong with WAR. Papi was worth his weight in gold and more valuable than any other position player that played for the sox at all during his tenure.

Papi would be worth 40m today, easy.

[Hitch]

5 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Breslow on WEEI just now responded to Lee's story about strife with some long-time front office employees: "I'm here because results on the field have not been good the past few years."

Can't argue with that...

You really can't. He was left a shitshow. 

[Hitch]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The results weren't good last year either. The results so far this year haven't been all that hot. 🫠

Let's maybe give the guy some time? The one thing we all agreed on before he arrived was that the FO were being bad owners and not giving the team a chance to win. 

It takes time to build from that.

[Bellhorn04]

49 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Why does it matter that Devers didn't want to talk to Ortiz? He was doing fine without him. 

I'd call it disrespectful to say the least to brush off a team legend who's trying to give some advice.  Unfortunately that seems to be Raffy's way.  And I'm really surprised by it.  I was a big fan of Raffy's before this.  

[dgalehouse]

Devers definitely could hit. No doubt about that. He refused a request from management to change positions, then became upset when the rookie volunteered. He showed a lack of hustle on the field. He declined to participate in off the field activities. He ignored the outreach from a Sox  icon and Hall of Famer. He displayed a bad and selfish attitude in general , despite being the longest tenured player and a very highly paid one at that. But he sure could hit.  

[Hitch]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not sure I can believe anything I read, these days, but there is a report that multiple sources confirmed that Devers was upset at Campbell for volunteering to play 1B, and that this undermined him.

Either way, I think more was going on than we are aware of.

Do you have links for this? Can't see anything. If that's true, then the guys is better away from the place.  I find it hard to believe.

That said, while I am still in disbelief at the trade, I'm also fairly confident Devers was far from being a saint, or even a good teammate for stretches at points this year. 

The 'culture' comments are clearly barbs aimed at Devers around being a good teammate. 

[Bellhorn04]

9 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

If WAR tells you that a DH is only worth 6 WAR capped, then something is wrong with WAR. Papi was worth his weight in gold and more valuable than any other position player that played for the sox at all during his tenure.

Papi would be worth 40m today, easy.

I have to disagree with the first sentence.  I think WAR treats DH's fairly because they only play half the game.

By the same token the highest WAR a closer has ever had is probably around 4.

6 WAR is huge for a DH.  Also, 6 WAR on the free agent market costs about 50 million on average, so obviously I don't disagree about prime Papi being worth a ton of coin.

[dgalehouse]

8 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Yup it is- for sure. But your current Red Sox, that have spent 6 years trying to rebuild back into a good team, just fell pretty far back.

Feelings/maturity/blame-game doesnt change that.  Not to dismiss all of that, I understand that more than talent matters.  But Im personally, having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we are now worse as a team, even if the players are like good riddance about it.

The Sox have not done very well with Devers as the star of the show. Let's see how they do without him. Personally, I think they will be better. I also think that Breslow is a huge improvement over Bloom. I think this team is moving in the right direction.  Time will tell.